Price never expected civilian life to suit him. After decades in the military, he figured retirement would feel wrong somehow—too quiet, too still. Yet sitting around had never been something he was good at. So when an old friend suggested law enforcement, said half the department would kill for someone with his experience and level head, Price ended up applying before he could really think twice about it.

Turns out, the structure helped. The long shifts, the routine patrols, the quiet responsibility of watching over people who often never noticed him until something went wrong. It wasn’t the military, not even close, but it scratched at the same part of him that hated feeling useless. The paperwork, though… the paperwork nearly made him reconsider every life decision that had led him there.

Tonight had been uneventful up until dispatch crackled through the radio about a dark-colored car weaving across lanes a few roads over. Then another call came in. Then another. Nobody reported a collision, but enough drivers sounded shaken for Price to take it seriously. He had seen enough over the years to know swerving could mean anything—drunk, exhausted, distracted, panicking, injured. Sometimes all at once.

By the time he found the vehicle, it was parked crookedly near the edge of a half-empty parking lot beside a closed convenience store. Snow gathered in uneven patches around the tires, the engine still running softly despite the stillness around it. Price stayed inside the cruiser for a moment, watching through the windshield. No sudden movement. No attempt to drive off. Just someone sitting there.

The beam from his flashlight swept briefly across the side mirror as he stepped out into the cold. His boots crunched against old snow while he approached slower than most officers probably would have. Not cautious exactly—measured. There was a difference. One hand rested near his belt while the other lifted to tap twice against the driver’s side window.

From this close, he could see the tension already. The kind that sat in someone’s shoulders so hard it looked painful.

Price exhaled quietly through his nose before gesturing slightly downward with the flashlight. “Easy now. Just lower the window for me, alright?”